Reunion

It's strange, a part of me is completely mortified that I'd fallen asleep on him the night before. The other half was very relieved that I'd woken up in Yusei's bedroom this morning. It was a good sign all things considered. I rubbed my eyes, already feeling my need for coffee kicking in. I got myself out of bed. The fabric of the dress had bunched together while I slept and neatly fell to my knees as I stood. Again, I ended up sleeping in clothes I wore the day before. I really need to stop falling asleep at inconvenient times.

My phone rang, and I checked the caller id, Demak. I braced myself for what he might say. My old boss usually called to scold me, and although Demak had proven more flexible, I retained a level of nervousness from such calls. I hadn't been to work in a long while, but it was Demak that had suggested I take time off. If I considered the matter rationally, at most, my workload would triple as a consequence of my extended leave.

"Hello," I said. From what I could tell of his holographic image, he seemed to bare me no ill will. In fact, he was grinning. A sight that was unsettling, instead of reassuring. His face wasn't really built for such a broad smile.

"I never thanked you for letting me take so much time off. Sorry, I haven't been much of an asset," I said, after a minute or two without a response. Demak shook his head.

"That's part of the reason I called. You've been dueling, haven't you?" Demak asked, despite seeming to know the answer. I didn't like where this was going.

"Yes, but how did you know that?" I asked. Demak adjusted the screen so more of his office was visible. On his desk was a laptop, it was currently playing a video. Brief instances of each of my duels appeared, the top of the video read Carly's dueling highlights. Someone recorded the duels I'd been having the last couple of days. I dropped the phone as it hit me.

I had exchanged a kiss with two out of three of those duelist. Sure enough, the phone's screen flickered, but Jack's impromptu goodbye came on screen. Okay, that's bad, but maybe, they didn't catch the other kiss. The video screen went black, and I sighed. Good, the last thing I needed was to become infamous for that sort of thing. Plain white letters slowly appeared, they spelled out words that filled me with dread: but wait, there's more. The room seemed to grow colder after that. And, there we were exchanging saliva for all the world to see. Demak shut the computer and turned to me, with that same strange smile.

"Sales have gone through the roof. Several of your fans have requested that you start writing a dueling column," Demak said. I blinked.

"What fans?" I asked. It makes no sense. I'm a reporter, not a duelist, last night should attest to that.

"Carly, you challenged three of the most high profile duelists in the world in the last three days and won one out of three and kissed two out of three. The only way for you to possibly be more of a hot ticket would be if you had kissed three out of three," Demak explained. A heat spread through me like hot syrup on pancakes. I was the thing to gossip about this week. It was fairly miraculous I hadn't been bombarded by my fellow peers. I picked the phone off the floor.

"They're not taking the whole kiss thing seriously are they?" I asked, but I could already see Angela having a field day with this.

"They nicknamed you Fortune's Kiss," Demak replied. I shut my eyes for a second. No, I was possessed by Aslla Piscu, took people's souls, leveled buildings, and this is what makes it on camera?

"It looks like you need some time to process this. Be ready to come to work tomorrow," Demak said, before cutting the call short.

"You don't have to do that," I said, too late. I decide to change into my regular attire so something about the day could feel normal. My satchel was on Yusei's desk, but something else sitting on the desk distracted me.

My two bears were sitting there, back to back. They peered up at me with their glassy eyes. I had sent them to Ruka. Their presence here was puzzling. Perhaps, she simply decided she didn't want a present from me. Word of Aki's visit could have reached her by now with the media on my case. A small note was on Yusei bear's lap. It read, come downstairs. I put on my usual attire. I had missed my blue jeans, striped shirt, and orange vest. Of course, there was also the pair of glasses that helped save me. Leaving the contacts on had left my eyes irritated, I took them off and slipped on my trifocals. Prepared at last, I came downstairs to see what the fuss was about.

My white and purple furniture now mixed together with the old worn sofa and arm chair. I sort of regretted the color choice now. White and purple were Jack colors, but I was glad to see I was being integrated into the household nonetheless. The old table still remained in the corner. I vaguely remember Jack bragging that he had made it. Adjacent to that was the kitchen were my appliances were together with some of the more rusted if dependable contraptions. One such device was in use now, Yusei was busy making waffles. He was talking on the phone while placing the newly made waffles on a plate. I glanced at the two separate stacks hopefully. I was ninety nine percent sure one of those stacks was meant for me.

"Kiryu, I just need you to tell me if you were the one who posted those videos online. I promise I won't yell at you," Yusei said. I stood there and waited patiently. Yusei didn't look particularly affected by the situation yet. His cool demeanor actually worked to our advantage this time. I considered the evidence. Kiryu was at the party, but how would he even know about my duel with Jack? Then again, he'd slipped past me before, and the stadium was huge.

"Misty?" he mouthed. I couldn't believe it. It wasn't like Misty to violate my privacy like that, especially with some of the footage detailing parts of my love life for all the world to see.

"You took the recording from Misty and posted it online," Yusei repeated. He unplugged the waffle maker.

"You do understand how that might make things difficult for us don't you?" Yusei asked evenly. I walked past him and commandeered one of the stacks. He grabbed the syrup and added it to his and where he assumed my plate still was. I covered my mouth to not give myself away. I was very close to laughing.

"You would say that," Yusei grumbled, hanging up. He stared at the sticky mess of syrup on the counter. He quickly pieced together what happened. He spotted me.

"Good morning," he said, adding syrup to my waffles.

"Morning," I replied. He nodded and began to clean up the spilled syrup.

After a few minutes of silence, I looked around the living room before broaching the subject. The message was clear to me, but I never really know what's going on in his head.

"My furniture is here," I said. He put down the syrup. The following thud was rather loud. I stiffened and wondered if I had upset him. He toyed with his fingers and didn't look directly at me.

"It's too soon isn't it. I can put it back," Yusei said, already moving past me and aiming to do just that. He bent over to move the furniture. The sofa creaked a little as he started to push it. I grabbed his sleeve.

"No, I'm glad," I said. He stopped in his tracks and the tension in his shoulders ceased. He straightened and turned around.

"Do you know about the videos yet?" Yusei prompted. I nodded and ate one of the triangular waffle bits.

"I imagine it will be difficult for you to snoop if everyone knows your face," Yusei added. He had a point.

"I'm thinking of starting a dueling column. It's easier to cover, and there's less of a chance I'll be bombarded at a bad time," I explained and sat down on the sofa. He retrieved his own plate of waffles and joined me.

"I can't say I'm not relieved. You have a tendency to," He hesitated.

"Trip or die," I finished for him. He didn't comment. We ate quietly. I was very careful not to spill any on the sofa. Eventually, I was staring at an empty plate that still had specks of syrup. Yusei traced designs with the leftover syrup on his plate, mainly large circles.

"We're going to the park," he said. So far, I had remained safe from outside intrusion because I was indoors. There was no guarantee that the park would end up being the peaceful sanctuary that we needed right now. I might be used to sneaking around, but part of the reason I was good at it was because people rarely gave me a second glance. This whole video craze put a red hot target on my back.

"Is now really the best time for that?" I asked. Yusei took our plates to the sink and washed them.

"You said you could sneak past other reporters right? A few people are meeting us there," he explained. I thought back to my old bears innocently sitting on Yusei's desk. The idea that Ruka and Rua were visiting was much more appealing than thinking Ruka had rejected my presents.

"The twins?" I asked. He stopped drying the plate momentarily.

"Oh no. They're not coming till the weekend," Yusei informed me as he added the freshly cleaned dishes to the cabinet. The abrupt trip seemed odd. They did live all the way in England now. Considering the long flight, a weekend trip hardly seemed worth the short time they would be here.

"Why now? I'd think they'd hate me," I said. Yusei who normally would protest that sort of assumption answered honestly.

"They're giving me the benefit of the doubt," he said.

Okay, so I have the weekend to be charming. I think I could do that. While I was with Jack, I don't think I ever saw them more than once or twice. Which meant I technically had yet to make a first impression, unfortunately, it also meant that Aki's recent disastrous trip was all the impression they had of me. So, in little kid terms, I was a Yusei stealer.

I really didn't want to think about that too long. So, I opted to change the subject. Perhaps, I can talk him out of going to the park right now.

"So, any particular reason it has to be the park?" I asked. I would think he'd want to lie low too.

" Kiryu already decorated," Yusei replied vaguely. He headed towards his bike. I hesitated before following him.

"For what?" I asked. Yusei sat down and turned on the bike.

"A dark signer reunion," he responded while he stared down at the controls, perfectly maintained as always. I sat down behind him.

"And you're okay with that?" I asked, unsure of how Demak's presence might dampen Yusei's attitude on attending the affair. The tension at their last meeting had been rather thick.

"Yes, it was rash of me to judge Demak so quickly," Yusei admitted and pressed a button on the bike that seemed to serve as a garage door opener. We zipped along the streets with typical disregard for traffic laws. The only difference was that he had to jump over a herd of reporters as well. I hit him.

"Be more careful or I will leave my hands up in the air while you drive, and I will let the chips fall were they may," I threatened, successfully slowing him down. As a result, we were actually the last ones to arrive.

We got off the bike and walked to the nearby picnic table and tree. The sign on the tree literally read dark signer reunion. I'd wished Kiryu would have been more subtle about it. I suppose most people in the city didn't know the proper terms for what they saw anyway. I checked to see if everyone was indeed there. I saw no signs of Bomber joining the festivities. It made sense to me considering he lived the farthest away, and he wasn't particularly close to the group. We did kind of just stick him into momentum's core to speed up the process.

But the rest of the surviving members were sitting at the picnic table as if it were the equivalent of a high school reunion. Kiryu noticed our arrival first. He stood up and walked over to greet us.

"Hey, you made it. From the way Yusei was going on and on, I had expected more of a delay,"

"Yusei jumped his bike over the reporters," I told him, and Kiryu grinned at Yusei knowingly. He also sported the sort of look that seemed to imply that he knew all along there was a devil in there somewhere.

"Ah, Yusei decided not to be polite then," Kiryu said. When Yusei failed to continue the conversation, I took over. I was actually dreadfully curious if my article had actually helped the small western town out.

"How are thing in Satisfaction Town anyway?" I asked.

"Never better, your article actually attracted a lot of tourism. We sell replica Yusei poncho's now. They sell like hot cakes. " Kiryu announced proudly. He produced one from his leather backpack and handed it to me. It was rather heavy, but I was surprised that it wasn't imitation leather. These ponchos likely didn't come cheap.

"Kiryu," Yusei said as if his name was a curse. I looked between them. I doubt Kiryu had bothered to ask Yusei's permission.

"What? I got the pattern from Martha, and besides, it doesn't make your poncho any less special," Kiryu said.

"That really isn't why I have a problem with it," Yusei muttered. He had his arms crossed and was avoiding eye contact with Kiryu.

"It's capitalism Yusei, deal with it." Kiryu replied before returning his attention to me.

"By the way, that one is for you," Kiryu said to me, after deciding that there was no use placating Yusei at the moment. Yusei hid his face with one of his hands.

"Kiryu," he said again although this time was much softer. Kiryu patted his back.

"Thanks," I said, putting it on. All the previous dark signer's laughed as I skipped along in the poncho. Yusei sat down next to them, letting his shoulder's droop. I trotted back eventually. Misty signaled for me to come closer. I hunched down like she commanded so she could whisper in my ear.

"Ask him if he likes it," Misty advised me. I didn't really get it. He had one just like it. Of course he liked it, I went ahead and decided to heed Misty's advice anyway.

I squeezed in between him and Kiryu. Only then did I notice that Demak sat on the other side of the table alone. Even now, he isn't the most approachable person on earth. I tapped Yusei's shoulder to get his attention.

"Do you like it?" I asked him. The question didn't seem to register like I expected.

"It's kind of nice to see you in something of mine, sort of," Yusei confessed. Misty's agenda clicked as I realized it was the equivalent of wearing a guy's oversized t-shirt.

"I can take it off if you don't want me to wear it. I mean," I backtracked as I realized how it sounded. There was a flash. Kiryu twirled the phone around his fingers like a cheap one dollar toy.

"And send," Kiryu mentioned off handedly as he pressed a button on his phone.

"What did you do?"Yusei snapped at him. Kiryu whistled innocently.

"Weren't you worried that people would assume that she was with Jack? I sent the tabloids a picture of you two together with her wearing your poncho, problem solved," Kiryu explained. Yusei shoved him.

"I never said that," he said, denying it vehemently. I gave him a reassuring hug. This seemed to calm him as he leaned back involuntarily, until Kiryu shoved him back. I almost tumbled backward because of it. Both Misty and I switched to the other side of the table to avoid the crossfire.

"There's cake," Misty offered. She cut the chocolate cake into five pieces and passed them around the table. We left Yusei's and Kiryu's cake a respectable distance from their spat. It was kind of fascinating to witness Yusei put someone in a headlock.

"So this is why you gave me the day off," I said in an attempt to make small talk with Demak.

"Aye," he said, mostly pushing around the pieces of cake on his plate. The three of us watched them silently for a while.

"You took video of me Misty?" I asked finally, after the silence grew dull.

"I'm sorry, Carly. I was keeping the tapes as a sort of keep sake. I didn't realize he'd get a hold of them," Misty replied wryly.

"It's okay, Misty, according to Demak some good came out of it. Sales from the magazine have sky rocketed," I assured her. Misty narrowed her eyes at Demak.

"How convenient," she said. Demak didn't budge, despite the icy stare.

"Justice must truly be blind if you don't see that Kiryu is prone to this sort of thing. Exhibit A," Demak gestured to the two siblings who were currently wrestling on the floor. At this point, it seemed unhealthy to let it continue.

"Yusei, it's not like he can take it back. Get up," I demanded. Yusei sighed and stood. While his back was turned, Kiryu got him in a head lock and shook his hair affectionately. Yusei attempted to undo the damage but random strands of his hair fell into disarray.

"You feeling okay? We haven't tussled like that since Crashtown," Kiryu asked, sitting next to Misty. Yusei sat next to me without thinking about it. The side of the table we were on became crowded. Demak changed to the other side of the table.

"I just feel a little out of place here," Yusei said. Let's see. Dark signer. Dark signer. Dark signer. Dark signer. Signer. Okay, so it's a little awkward.

"Nonsense, you're like an honorary dark signer," Kiryu said. Yusei's faced blanched. I winced, such a bad move on Kiryu's part. I hung onto him based on an irrational fear he might run away.

"Please, don't say that," Yusei said. Kiryu thought about it.

"Well, its more of a clan name now," Kiryu explained. Yusei wasn't sold on the idea. Misty stepped in.

"I think what he's trying to say is you're family. So long as you stay with Carly, you're stuck with us," Misty said. I let my head hit the picnic table. Way to make me sound appealing Misty, it was a good thing that he'd initiated the get together. I consoled myself with the fact that he was stuck with Kiryu either way so it wasn't an issue.

"A toast to Carly for conquering her enemies and winning her prize," Demak said. He made it sound like Yusei didn't have a choice in the matter. Well, I guess there were some convenience issues involved in the decision. I let my head sink back down on the table.

"He means ,well, you know, congratulation on picking a good one," Kiryu translated. I was slowly lifted from my impromptu hiding place. I sat down normally, after much prompting from Yusei. In a better position to grab me, Yusei wrapped his arms around my waist. He leaned in and whispered.

"If it makes you feel better, I still have to fight Jack, four or five more times before he'll actually back off," I hadn't thought of that. I couldn't say that was the major thing on my mind right now. We were close enough that I could feel his breath on my cheeks. I took a chance. I pressed my lips to his. There was an immediate response, sweet and simple. The taste of soda and chocolate met each other, to the point were I wasn't sure if the tingling was a reaction in my body or because of the soda. For whatever embarrassment and misunderstandings, we'd suffered. Currently, we ignored it all. The fizzy soda fizzed, the dark signer's chattered, and somewhere in the world Jack sneezed.